"The world is uglier than it needs to be"
And honestly? That bothers me more than it should. Look, I get it. UX ≠ UI. You can ship something that works beautifully under the hood with a mediocre interface and still win. But here's the thing: why settle for "good enough" when you could create something that makes people feel something? Patrick Collison from Stripe really nailed it:
"One can just do things well or poorly. Beauty is not a rivalrous good"
This quote hits different for me because we've all seen those companies making tons of money with products that look like they were designed in 2003. And sure, they're profitable. But does that justify the ugly design we're forced to endure? I don't think so. Ever heard of the shopping cart theory? It judges your character by whether you return your cart or just leave it for someone else to deal with. Same energy as people who don't re-rack their weights at the gym. That's exactly how I feel about ugly products. Nobody's holding a gun to your head forcing you to make something beautiful, but choosing not to? That tells me everything I need to know about you and your company. Beautiful design isn't just aesthetics. It's giving your product a soul. It's the difference between a tool and a brand people actually want to use. Most ugly products survive because they're monopolies. No competition = no incentive to care. But that era is dying fast. Here's the reality: With AI democratizing product development, one of the few remaining moats is taste. An eye for design. Attention to details that make users go "damn, this is nice."
So here's my challenge to you: Stop making excuses. Stop settling. The world has enough ugly products in it. Make something beautiful. -`ღ´-
